Disclaimer: all quotes, stories, and claims made in this article are fictional. This article is not sponsored.
By now you may have heard of the popular jewelry line Bored Beads. The small company was started by Westridge alumna Jamie Gallo and her girlfriend, Marie Bland in the hopes of generating some funds for impactful organizations.
What Westridge students may not have heard of is a lesser-known, counterpart brand by the name of Botched Beans.
When the couple Laurie Jenkins and Jarred Klam met at the Echo Park bean canning factory (conveniently located in the Echo Park lake) five years ago, they had no idea their friendship would turn into a booming partnership and a business generating 7-figure salaries for each of them.
Laurie and Jarred became acquaintances during their night shift at the bean factory, where they both worked at the end of the assembly line wrapping the bean cans in labels. Laurie was the first to notice that about once a day, she and Jarred would receive a can of beans ready for packaging, but rather than hearing the usual heavy sloshing of twice-baked beans, they would hear a Mexican-jumping-bean-like rattle.
Instead of disposing of the calcified beans or donating them to homeless shelters to be rehydrated and eaten, Laurie and Jarred decided they would put their majors in communications and anthropology to good use and start a business.
They began making earrings, but have since branched out to include rings, faux pearl necklaces, lockets, and belly button piercings in their lineup.
When delivering their jewelry to customers, Laurie and Jarred include a complementary ziploc baggie of water. They describe this addition of bagged water as a safety precaution - Botched Beans jewelry doubles as a survival tool. Jarred says, “When Laurie and I were stuck in the Atacama Desert last summer with no food, all we had to do was rehydrate our earrings and eat them! It was like a three course meal!”
Laurie and Jarred have continued their part-time jobs at the bean canning factory while building up Botched Beans. The business has even gained some notoriety among the British, who say that they are grateful for the newfound publicity bean products have been receiving.
But all jokes aside, actually go buy some Bored Beads! They make beautiful, inexpensive, handmade jewelry. They also donate a portion of their proceeds to various organizations and funds such as the Lebanese Red Cross and Farm2Power.
By now you may have heard of the popular jewelry line Bored Beads. The small company was started by Westridge alumna Jamie Gallo and her girlfriend, Marie Bland in the hopes of generating some funds for impactful organizations.
What Westridge students may not have heard of is a lesser-known, counterpart brand by the name of Botched Beans.
When the couple Laurie Jenkins and Jarred Klam met at the Echo Park bean canning factory (conveniently located in the Echo Park lake) five years ago, they had no idea their friendship would turn into a booming partnership and a business generating 7-figure salaries for each of them.
Laurie and Jarred became acquaintances during their night shift at the bean factory, where they both worked at the end of the assembly line wrapping the bean cans in labels. Laurie was the first to notice that about once a day, she and Jarred would receive a can of beans ready for packaging, but rather than hearing the usual heavy sloshing of twice-baked beans, they would hear a Mexican-jumping-bean-like rattle.
Instead of disposing of the calcified beans or donating them to homeless shelters to be rehydrated and eaten, Laurie and Jarred decided they would put their majors in communications and anthropology to good use and start a business.
They began making earrings, but have since branched out to include rings, faux pearl necklaces, lockets, and belly button piercings in their lineup.
When delivering their jewelry to customers, Laurie and Jarred include a complementary ziploc baggie of water. They describe this addition of bagged water as a safety precaution - Botched Beans jewelry doubles as a survival tool. Jarred says, “When Laurie and I were stuck in the Atacama Desert last summer with no food, all we had to do was rehydrate our earrings and eat them! It was like a three course meal!”
Laurie and Jarred have continued their part-time jobs at the bean canning factory while building up Botched Beans. The business has even gained some notoriety among the British, who say that they are grateful for the newfound publicity bean products have been receiving.
But all jokes aside, actually go buy some Bored Beads! They make beautiful, inexpensive, handmade jewelry. They also donate a portion of their proceeds to various organizations and funds such as the Lebanese Red Cross and Farm2Power.